Despite Shakeup Report, Bitmain Suggests It’s Business as Usual

This week, the South China Morning Post reported Bitmain’s Product Engineering Director Haichao Wang had taken on some CEO duties at the miner manufacturing powerhouse. While declining to comment on specific reporting, Bitmain told Bitsonline it would have publicized any such pivot through official channels if it had already happened.

On Jan. 10th, the mainstream Hong Kong daily SCMP published an article on a possible executive shakeup at Bitmain, as insiders at the company had reportedly told The Post Bitmain’s founders Ketuan Zhan and Jihan Wu were shifting solely into company co-chairs while letting Wang transition into CEO, a position Zhan and Wu had previously shared.

Wang, an experienced programmer who joined Bitmain in 2017, started taking on some CEO responsibilities last month, the SCMP reported.

If true, the development would mark a fast rise for Wang within Bitmain’s ranks and a tangible refocusing of the company’s leadership strategies.

However, for their part, the mining rig manufacturer has since dashed some cold water on the shakeup chatter.

Bitmain, creators of the Antminer rig series, haven’t made any formal announcements on a new leadership change.

While Bitmain declined to comment on specific reporting, the company’s International Communications and PR Director Nishant Sharma told Bitsonline by email that any executive changes would have been formally announced had they already happened.

“Just FYI: if there were a new CEO as you have mentioned, we would let all stakeholders and authorities know through official channels,” Sharma said.

Zooming Out: a Time for Paring Down

The 2018 cryptoeconomy correction dealt heavy blows to the balance sheets of the ecosystem’s biggest enterprises, as significant layoffs have hit crypto mainstays like ShapeShift, ConsenSys, and beyond in recent weeks.

Though Bitmain is currently the world’s top miner manufacturer, it, too, wasn’t immune to last year’s bearish market tumbles.

The company started a new wave of layoffs in Dec. 2018, with Bitmain staff saying at the time that as much as 50 percent of the company’s employees and some whole departments were likely to be let go.

The 2017-2018 cycle was a rollercoaster for crypto markets, and every enterprise and project in the space has been dealing with the results of its chop ever since.

Of course, if 2019 sees that market chop drop further downwards, then look for companies around the space to continue paring down even further to brace against inevitable budget tightenings.

What’s your take? Will layoffs in crypto be a major storyline in 2019, or is the cryptoeconomy about to turn bullish once more? Let us know in the comments section below.